Lost in The Vampire Diaries
by Esm3rald
Summary: A beautiful, blonde cheerleader who's also a big TVD fan wakes up one day in the Vampire Diaries' world. Strangest thing of all? She has replaced her favorite female character, Caroline Forbes. Damon/OC. Inspired by 'Lost in Austen'. Begins in the very first episode of Season1.
1. Prologue

**LOST IN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES**

**Summary**: A beautiful, blonde cheerleader who's also a big TVD fan wakes up one day in the Vampire Diaries' world. Strangest thing of all? She has replaced her favorite female character, Caroline Forbes. Damon/OC. Inspired by 'Lost in Austen'.

**P.S. Caroline is not my favorite character. I liked her in season2 very much but now I like her only when she has scenes with Klaus and sometimes with Stefan and Tyler. However she is the favorite female character of my OC. That is not the same thing. I don't really think that Caroline and Damon would be good together. But my OC thinks so, and that's the reason why she takes over Caroline's life. I hope that's clear.**

**Another thing, my OC has seen the Vampire Diaries since the episode 2x02. In her world the entire season2, the season3 and the season4 had not yet aired.**

**My OC looks like Dianna Agron from Glee but with blue eyes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries nor any of its characters. Just my OC.**

**Prologue**

Claire was watching The Vampire Diaries like every Thursday night. She sighed a little dreamily when Damon Salvatore appeared on the screen. She couldn't understand how Elena was still with Stefan when there was someone like Damon around. He loved her so much and he would do anything for her, how could Elena treat him so badly? Yes, Damon had done a lot of bad things but Stefan had too. Why Stefan was so easily forgiven by her but not Damon? It wasn't fair. If only Damon hadn't abused Caroline so badly in the first season... they would have been good together. Of course Caroline was more than a little annoying at the beginning of the first season, maybe if she had been different, even her relationship with Damon would have been better. Caroline was very loyal and passionate and had a big heart. Damon deserved someone like that since he loved with all that he had. And anyway it wasn't fair that he always had to compete with his brother for the love of the woman he was in love with. Damon deserved someone who hadn't been in love with his brother first. Of course she knew that a love story between Damon and Caroline was impossible now. Damon was completely in love with Elena and Caroline was with Matt.

Claire sighed again. Of course Caroline had still not acquired the maturity necessary to appeal to a man like Damon. She was starting to grow up just now but it was too late because Damon was already in love with Elena and he - unfortunately for her - was loyal to a fault.

Claire shook her head a little deprecatingly. She had become a little too obsessed with this show. It wasn't healthy. She was not Caroline and Damon Salvatore did not exist, to her great chagrin.

Of course she and Caroline had a lot in common. They were both blue-eyed blonde and captain of their respective cheerleader's squad, always invested in whatever extracurricular activity possible, like planning school dances or parties for the football team. And they were the Queen Bees of their schools. Beautiful, popular and mean and shallow too - at least at first sight -. Even their names were kind of similar.

She kept watching the episode - Brave New World - and winced when Damon tried to stake Caroline. Poor Caroline, first killed by Katherine and now almost killed - again - by Damon. Unfortunately Damon was really a dick towards Caroline. If only things had been different. Maybe at this point in time Damon would have tried to help her with her transformation instead of trying to kill her.

Then she became angry when Bonnie tried to barbecued Damon. It wasn't his fault that Caroline was now a vampire dammit. It was Katherine's. Why had she not tried to kill her when she had seen her at the Lockwood Mansion? Bonnie was such a bitch nowadays. It was not like everything bad that happened in Mystic Falls was Damon's fault now. Fortunately Elena jumped across the fire to stop Bonnie from killing Damon. _Good one Elena_! But of course soon after she left with Bonnie, leaving Damon lying there alone on the ground. Poor Damon. Of course Elena had every right to hate Damon right now since he had killed Jeremy and all but Elena didn't know what both she and Katherine had done to Damon. They had completely broken his heart.

What was so special about Stefan anyway that both Katherine and Elena were so in love with him? She didn't see anything special in him really. He wasn't particularly handsome. Or at least he was nothing compared to Damon. He was arrogant, manipulative, selfish and a big fat liar. He was also spoiled and used to being chosen over his brother. He was the Golden boy, the preferred son. Claire hated people like that. Those who obtained everything they wanted without doing anything to earn it. Because what had actually done Stefan to earn Elena's love expect having manipulate her from the very beginning? Damon had saved her life countless times but not once had Elena thanked him for it. If only someone would really try to get to know the real Damon, the loyal man who would anything for the people he loved, instead of the monster he wanted to pass for. Thinking that she had liked Stefan at the very beginning of the series. But when she had found out that he had stalked Elena for three months after her parents' death... The epic love story that they wanted to portray had suddenly appeared cheap and fake. And of course the more the audience found out about Stefan and Damon's past and the more was evident who was the real hero of the story. Looking a little bit in disgust the cheesy scene between Elena and Stefan on the Ferris wheel, she yawned. Not too long until the end of the episode and then she would be free to dream about Damon Salvatore all she wanted. She grinned, she was such an idiot. As if Damon would ever be interested in her if he really existed, or if she was in his world. Her last thought before finally falling asleep was that if she had been in Caroline's place, she would have tried in any way she could to make Damon realize that Katherine and Elena were not the only girls that existed in the world and that neither of them really deserved his unconditional and all consuming love. She really wished she had Caroline's life. She could change so many things about Caroline's own life, about Damon's... Damon would finally have someone who loved him completely, someone who wasn't the least bit interested in his brother. And Claire would have Damon of course. And that was everything she could ask for.


	2. Chapter 1 - Pilot

**Thanks so much for the reviews and to everyone who put my fic in the favorites and alerts, I'm so happy you like it. Here's the first chapter that follows the events of the Pilot. Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 1 - Pilot**

Claire woke up with the uncomfortable feeling of something being off. She opened her eyes, trying to figure out what was different. And then she understood. It was the strange sensation of falling asleep in one place and waking up in another. Because the bedroom she found herself in was definitely not hers. It was kind of familiar though... Where had she seen it before? She looked around her curiously and then noticed a photo on her nightstand that made her widen her eyes. It was of three girls, one was definitely herself - fact that would have seemed strange enough already since she didn't remember having ever posed for this particular photo - but the really strange thing was the two other girls in the photo with her. She knew those girls, even if she hadn't ever met them in person, nor she thought she ever would. But it didn't make sense, she would surely remember if she had took a photo with Nina Dobrev and Kat Graham. Especially in those cheerleaders' outfits. So she was in a photo with the actresses who played Elena and Bonnie in The Vampire Diaries, in their cheerleader uniforms, those same uniforms that she had seen in the episode 'Friday Night Bites'? How was it possible? And where was Candice Accola? The actress who played Caroline Forbes in the show. She looked around once again at the room she was in and then it clicked, why the room seemed so familiar. _No way! I'm dreaming, I'm definitely dreaming! _That was Caroline Forbes' room, the same one she had seen in the show. What the hell was happening? She closed and opened her eyes several times, hoping to wake up from this strange dream but nothing. Then she pinched her arm too for good measure - _it hurts dammit_ - but it served no good. She was still there.

"Claire, are you up? You better hurry or you'll be late for your first day of school." She heard a woman's voice calling from outside her room.

"Yes, mum." She answered automatically and then widened her eyes even more. _'Mum?' Why did I call this woman 'mum'?_ _I don't know her, but she obviously knows me since she called me by my name._ A second later she realized that she knew that voice too. It was Liz Forbes' voice. _You gotta be kidding me!_ _I'm in The Vampire Diaries? _

She got up from the bed in a sudden move and found herself in front of the big mirror near the window. She looked like herself and Liz Forbes called her Claire and not Caroline but she was in Caroline's room and there was no trace of her, she was even in a photo with Elena and Bonnie... _Oh my God, I'm Caroline Forbes! Or at least, I've taken over her life. _But if she was there, where was the real Caroline? Maybe they had switched places like in that British series when a modern girl switched places with Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy ended up falling in love with her? What was the title? Oh right, 'Lost In Austen'. But she had not crossed some strange door/portal to end up here. She had just woke up here. Why? The last thing she remembered was wishing she had Caroline's life. _Oh!_ _No, it's not possible. Those kind of things happened only in films or TV Shows, not in real life. _Except that she was really there. _What am I going to do now? _She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. The best course of action right now was simply going through the motions and hoping to wake up the next day in her real world once again. So, first thing first, she needed to get ready for school. She took a quick shower, realizing that she needed to hurry or she would be very late. She took a brief look inside the walk-in closet - she had a walk-in closet now, wow - and grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans, a light blue top, black leather ankle boots and jacket. Those were not her clothes but they were definitely clothes she would have chosen for herself and they were actually her size too. Nothing pink or frilly like Caroline's clothes were in the TV show. _Thank God for that, I may be a blonde cheerleader, but I'm not a Barbie! _She searched for the makeup bag and finally find it on the dresser together with the jewelry box full of necklaces, rings and earrings. She put a little makeup on, just a bit of mascara, eyeliner, lip-gloss and a veil of blush on her cheeks. She wore a silver pair of earrings, a large silver bracelet with light blue decorations painted on it and then she spotted a beautiful lapis lazuli locket on a silver chain that cascaded perfectly a little above the neckline. She looked at it for a moment, having the impression that she was forgetting something and then she remembered. Today she would meet Stefan Salvatore at school. _I need vervain. I hope Liz Forbes has got some of it somewhere. I don't want to end up as Damon's chew toy like what happened to the real Caroline in the show! _She spotted her school bag on a chair near the door, thanking whoever send her there that the books she would need for school were already inside of it and then she descended the stairs towards the kitchen. She searched for a few minutes inside the various kitchen cabinets and finally spotted the familiar plant, thanking the Council and Zach Salvatore for their existence for the first time ever. She put some of it inside the locket and was finally ready to go. The car keys were on the table with a note from Liz to drive safe. Claire smiled at that. Maybe she could try to improve the relationship between Caroline and her mum since in the show it wasn't the best. Then she shook her head, _There's no Caroline here, there's just me, at least for now. Better start thinking like that or people will think I am having Personality Disorders or something. _She took the keys and left the house, finding the car already parked on the driveway. The problem was that she didn't know how to reach the school since she didn't know the Mystic Falls' streets. It wasn't like in the Vampire Diaries they show you how to reach the town's different places. She started the engine anyway and then she realized with a start that she knew the direction to take to arrive at Mystic Falls High. _Maybe one day I'll get used to all the strange things that are happening to me._ _Or maybe it's better if I don't because that would mean I would get used to stay here too and I don't know if that's a good thing, especially counting the high mortality rate in this town. I really don't want to die, I'm too young for that._

She reached the school parking lot in about fifteen minutes and left the car. She entered inside the school and took a look around her. Everything was exactly as it was in the show, it was eerie. She noticed Bonnie and Elena near their lockets and decided to join them. _Time to face the music! _She refused to act like Caroline did in the first few episodes of the show, she was her own person, she would behave as she did usually, no matter the fact that her life had suddenly became a TV show.

"Ehy Elena, Bonnie!" she smiled at them but didn't ask Elena how she was, she had just lost her parents, it was obvious she wasn't okay.

"Ehy Clary!" Bonnie answered with a smile on her own. Elena nodded at her, looking a little uncomfortable.

"So have you heard about the new guy?" Claire asked, trying to lighten the obvious tension.

"What new guy?" asked Bonnie again.

Claire shrugged, feigning ignorance. "Don't know. Just that we'll have a new acquisition to our school body. I hope he's hot!"

Elena and Bonnie laughed at that. "Of course you would know! Claire Forbes is always informed about everything that's going on here!" Bonnie exclaimed with a smirk.

"You know me. I'm the Gossip Queen of this school!" Claire joked, trying to ignore how strange her given name sounded associated with the last name Forbes.

"Let's say the whole town!" Elena said this time.

Just in that moment they noticed a guy making his way towards the school office. Claire recognized him immediately. It was Stefan Salvatore.

"Must be him!" Claire added for good measure, already knowing that he was in fact the new student.

"He seems pretty hot!" Bonnie commented, looking at Stefan with an intrigued expression on her face. Claire mentally rolled her eyes. _He's nothing to Damon!_

"All I see is back!" Elena exclaimed.

"It's a hot back." Bonnie again.

"I've seen better." Claire shrugged. Even seeing him in person, Claire wasn't particularly impressed by him. And knowing what she knew about him...

"Who?" Bonnie asked her amused.

"Tyler, even if he's a douche! Have you seen him in jerseys during football practice?" Claire smirked again. Tyler had never been his favorite character in the show but she had to admit that he was pretty hot.

"Claire!" Elena exclaimed with a scandalized tone.

"What? It's true. I'm just being truthful!" Elena shook her head but she was smiling. Good, that was an improvement compared to what had happened in the first scene between Caroline and Elena. She was already improving things.

"I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Bonnie exclaimed with a fake faraway tone. Claire knew what she was doing but looked at her like she was crazy anyway. She needed to act like she didn't know anything after all.

"You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"What psychic thing Bonnie?" Claire asked her even if she already knew the answer.

"My gran thinks that I'm psychic. She said that our ancestors were from Salem or something like that. Witches she said."

"Really? Like real, honest witches?" Claire asked her.

"Yep. But I didn't believe her for a moment. She had probably too much to drink. Again."

"Here to messed up families!" Claire said without thinking then winced and looked at Elena. "I'm sorry Elena, I wasn't thinking..."

"It's okay." Elena answered but she had a pained expression on her face.

Claire didn't know what to say to remedy the situation so she didn't say anything.

They suddenly noticed Jeremy going to the bathroom and a guy exclaiming "Jeremy, good batch, man." Elena looked at his little brother for a moment and then said "I'll be right back." Claire watched her go with a sad expression. _Poor Elena!_

The bell rang and she and Bonnie made their way towards their first class, History with Mr Tanner. _Uh, I hope he's not such an asshole as he appeared in the show._

Claire really tried to pay attention to the lesson but her mind was already wandering without her realizing. She wondered if she would be able to go back home soon and how she had ended up there in the first place. A little part of her - the shallow part - wanted to stay there just to have the possibility of meeting Damon. She shook her head, trying to dispel those silly thoughts. She wasn't meant to be there, this wasn't her life. And Damon was meant for Elena anyway, not for her. Damon would never fall in love with someone like her. His types were beautiful brunettes who looked like his first love, not a blonde cheerleader like her. Even if Elena was kind of a bitch towards him. She was nothing special, just an ordinary seventeen year old girl like many.

She was distracted from her thoughts by a text message. It was Bonnie: NEW GUY STARING HOLES THROUGH ELENA'S HEAD! Claire automatically looked at Stefan and noticed that he was in fact looking at her brown-haired friend. Stefan, probably sensing eyes turned in his direction, turned to look at her. Claire immediately looked away.

"So, see you at the Grill later?" Bonnie asked as soon as History was over.

"Of course!" Claire answered without thinking again. Truth to be said, she didn't really want to go but she needed to follow the script no?

The rest of the school day passed uneventful and she was soon driving towards home. Once inside she called for Liz but she was probably still working. Claire sighed, she could understand why Caroline and her mum had such a difficult relationship. Her mother was absent most of the time.

Two hours later she was driving away again towards the Grill, Bonnie already waiting outside for her. They entered together and Claire was once again overwhelmed by a big sense of déjà vu. Everything was exactly the same as in the show, the places, the people in it. Maybe she had suddenly go crazy and she was in a sort of coma and all that she thought she was living was instead just inside her head but in reality she was locked inside an asylum like in that episode from Buffy. She shook her head. _I am not crazy_. _I have just ended up in a different reality or world or dimension or whatever, no big deal!_

Bonnie guided her towards an empty table and the two of them sat down. "So what have you found out about him?" Bonnie immediately asked her. Claire looked at her with a fake expression of confusion on her face. She knew perfectly well who Bonnie was referring to. "Who?"

"You know who. The new hot guy." Bonnie rolled her eyes at her but she was smiling.

"Fine. His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with uncle up at the old Salvatore boarding house. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue." She recited the exact same words Caroline had said in the first episode of Season1. _Thank_ _God I've watched the vampire diaries' season1 more than once._

"You got all of that in one day?" Bonnie asked her impressed.

"Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period." Claire answered with a smirk. "Even if I'm not excited as much as you are about him."

"How can you not be? He's so hot." Bonnie demanded scandalized.

"Yeah, I guess he's pretty handsome but I don't know...He's not really my type."

Bonnie looked at her with a disbelieving expression on her face but then widened her eyes and said. "You met someone." She exclaimed with certainty.

"What? No?" Claire immediately denied but then she thought of Damon and she immediately blushed.

"Ah! I knew it. Who is he?"

"There's no one Bonnie okay? It's so impossible for you to think that I may not be interested in Stefan?"

Bonnie stared at her suspiciously but she stopped pestering her.

Claire looked around her and in that moment she noticed a familiar blonde guy collect the empty glasses and bottles from a table nearby. Matt Donovan. She still so wasn't used to see all those people that until a day ago were just characters in a TV show she watched.

"Do you mind if I go to him? He seems so miserable." Bonnie asked her.

"Sure. I have my coke to keep me company." Claire answered, raising the glass she was holding.

She waved at Matt when she noticed him looking at them and Matt waved back, then Bonnie got up to talk to him about Elena. She remembered that conversation pretty well_. Poor Matt. The lives of these people really suck._ She thought, trying to avoid thinking that it was now her life too.

Not even ten minutes later she noticed Stefan and Elena entered the Grill and making their way towards Bonnie and Matt. They exchanged a few words and then Bonnie together with Elena and Stefan reached the table she was sitting on.

"Ehy Elena, who's your friend?" She teased her, getting up from the table. Elena blushed slightly and smiled. "This is Stefan Salvatore. Stefan this is my other best friend Claire Forbes."

Claire smiled at him even if she wasn't sure she really wanted to know him. Stefan extended his hand towards her and she took it. "What? No kiss on the hand Stefan? I'm disappointed."

"Claire!" Elena exclaimed embarrassed. Stefan didn't seem upset though, just amused. "Why did you expect me to kiss your hand? That kind of greeting has been outmoded centuries ago." He asked with a smile.

"I don't know. You just have that kind of look. Like your eyes has seen so many decades pass. And you could totally be one of the characters from an Austen novel."

"What, like Darcy?" Stefan asked smiling.

"Uhm, you have that broody look on you for sure but to decide what character really fits you, you will have to wait for me to know you better." Claire finished seriously, a decided warning on her voice.

"I accept your challenge, my lady!" Stefan exclaimed with a bow. Claire raised an eyebrow at that. _Who knew Stefan had any kind of sense of humor? _

Soon they were all sitting down and asking Stefan questions about his life before returning to Mystic Falls.

" So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Claire asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Mm-Hmm. And moved when I was still young." Was Stefan's answer.

"Parents?" Bonnie asked this time.

"My parents passed away."

"I'm sorry. Any siblings?" Elena inquired with a compassionate tone.

"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle."

"So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow." Claire asked, following Caroline's line but devoid of any flirty undertone.

"It's a back to school thing at the falls." Bonnie explained.

"Are you going?"Stefan asked, addressing Elena.

"Of course she is." Claire and Bonnie answered for her at the same time.

The next day they were in History class, again, and Mr Tanner was interrogating his students on the Battle of Willow Creek.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?"

Bonnie looked startled at Tanner and said "Um . . . a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot." Most of his classmates laughed at that.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." Tanner said nastily. "Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

Matt answered calmly "It's ok, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." while shrugging his shoulders.

"Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

"I'm sorry, I-I don't know." Elena looked lost.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break." Elena's face was a mix of angry, embarrassed and devastated at that.

"There were 346 casualties. Unless you're counting local civilians." Stefan answered for her.

"That's correct. Mister. . .?" Tanner was half-surprised and half-irritated that someone knew the answer to his question. _What an ass!_

"Salvatore." Stefan replied calmly.

"Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

Stefan startled a little at that but answered anyway. "Distant."

"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Tanner said smugly.

"Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner." Claire smirked at that. That scene was always fun to watch, even if she had never liked Stefan.

"Hmm." Tanner glared at Stefan slightly but didn't say anything more.

The rest of the day passed uneventful and Claire was soon ready for the party. Just like yesterday morning she knew exactly what way to take to reach the waterfalls but at that point she just shrugged her shoulders and went with the flow. This was already the second day that she was there and still no sign of her going back to her real life.

She tried to mingle, waving at people who called her name - she was pretty popular at school after all - and drinking beer but not too much because she didn't want to end up drunk and make a repeat of what happened to Caroline at the party during the Pilot.

She finally noticed Bonnie and Elena standing near a keg of beer and decided to join them.

"Just admit it, Elena." Bonnie was saying.

"Oh, ok, so he's a little pretty." Elena answered her with a little smile on her face.

"He has that romance novel stare." Bonnie continued. Claire rolled her eyes at that, knowing perfectly well who they were talking to.

"Who has the romance novel stare?" Claire asked her, just to join the conversation.

"Stefan Salvatore, who else?" Bonnie answered like it was obvious.

" Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul." Elena exclaimed ironically.

"Oh come on, are we really still talking about him?" Claire asked a little irritated.

"How come you're so set against him Claire? That's not like you at all. You would usually be all over him just because he's new and he's hot." Elena asked curiously.

"Are you calling me a slut Elena?" Claire asked sternly but with an ironic light in her eyes.

"What? No, of course not." Elena defended her words."I'm just saying that you usually like having guys vying for your attention."

Claire shrugged at that, admitting that it was true. "You're right. I'm shallow like that. But excluding the fact that Stefan's not my type, it would be a complete waste of my time, trying to get his attention because he's completely taken with you. But the reason why I'm so 'set against him' as you put it it's because... I don't know, I just think that he's hiding something. And I don't like people who lie even if by omission. There's something about him... I just don't trust him Elena. Don't ask me why but..." Claire concluded with a shrug, not knowing what to add without revealing the fact that she knew what Stefan was. She didn't want to boycott Stefan and Elena's relationship by any means, it was just that she already felt like Elena was her best friend - this being in 'The Vampire Diaries' thing was getting stranger and stranger by the minute - and she didn't want her to get hurt. Maybe trying to warn her a little would allow Elena to proceed with more caution so that she could be more prepared to face Stefan's revelation that he was a vampire a little better.

"So, speaking of Stefan, where is he?" Bonnie asked to interrupt the sudden silence that Claire's words had caused.

"I don't know. You tell me, you're the psychic one." Elena answered her with an amused smile.

Bonnie nodded mock-serious and said "Right, I forgot. Ok, so give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Elena stopped her with an hand and then looked around her for something resembling said crystal ball. She ended up deciding for an empty beer bottle. Bonnie took it from her, touching in the process Elena's hand by mistake. Bonnie immediately spaced out for a while and when she came back to her senses, she abruptly pull her hand back. Claire looked at this with a slight bored look on her face, having seen this scene a thousand times.

"What?" Elena asked bewildered.

"That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow." Bonnie answered with a faraway look.

"What?" Elena repeated.

"A crow. There was fog, a man." Still that faraway look but she snapped out of it and said "I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I'm gonna get a refill." Bonnie run away in a second and Elena turned to look at her with a worried look on her face. "What was that?" Claire shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

Elena turned suddenly around and came face to face with Stefan.

"Hi." Stefan greeted. Claire looked at this with amusement.

"Hi." Elena said in response, clearly surprised by his sudden appearance.

"I did it again, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. You're upset about something." Stefan inquired.

Elena shook her head at that. "Oh, uh, no, it's- it's just Bonnie. She's... You know what? Never mind. You're . . . here."

"I'm here." Stefan answered with a smile.

"I'm great too, thanks for asking!" Claire interjected with an ironic expression on her face.

Stefan and Elena turned to look at her, both looking sheepish. "I'm sorry, Claire. It's nice to see you again." Stefan said to her. "Nice save Stefan." Claire smirked at them both. "Well, I can see when I'm not welcomed so, I'll try to find Bonnie, see if she's okay. Have fun you two!" With that said, Claire left the two lovebirds alone and reached Bonnie, who was in that moment speaking with Matt.

"Ehy Bonnie, Matt." Claire greeted them with a smile. Bonnie smiled in return but she seemed still a little shaken about what had happened. Matt just nodded her way but kept looking towards the fall, probably looking at Elena spending time with Stefan.

"Leave it alone Matt. It's over between you two. Elena is obviously moving on. Maybe you should do the same." Claire said bluntly to him.

"How about you mind your own business Claire? This has nothing to do with you." Matt exclaimed angry.

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." Claire raised her hands in defense and kept silent.

Matt shook his head and then left without a word. Claire sighed. Yes, she was a bitch, she knew that, but Matt needed to hear it.

"Claire..." Bonnie said with a reproving tone. "Don't 'Claire' me. You know that I'm right. Matt needs to stop obsessing over Elena or he's going to end up more hurt that he already is. Elena is obviously very taken with Stefan and he's the same way towards her and, even if I don't totally approve of him, I know that it's Elena's choice and I'm sure that her choice is not going to be Matt. And Matt needed to hear that."

"Yeah, I know." Bonnie said in the end with a dejected look, obviously sad for Matt.

Meanwhile at the falls Elena and Stefan were talking. Elena was leaning over the bridge, looking at the water under her, Stefan besides her.

"You know, you're kind of the talk of the town."Elena started the conversation.  
**"**Am I?" Stefan asked surprised.  
**"**Mm-Hmm. Mysterious new guy, oh, yeah."  
**"**Well, you have the mysterious thing going, too. Twinged in sadness."  
**"**What makes you think that I'm sad?" Elena asked slightly defensive.

"Well, we did meet in a graveyard." Stefan said with a shrug.  
Elena smiled self-deprecatingly at that. "Right. Well, no, technically we met in the men's room. You don't want to know, it's. . . .it's not exactly party chit-chat.**"  
"**Well, I've never really been very good at, uh, chit-chat."  
**"**Last spring. . my parents' car drove off of a bridge into the lake. And I was in the backseat and I survived, but. . .they didn't. So that's my story." Elena finished sadly.  
**"**You won't be sad forever, Elena." Elena smiled slightly at that.

"I like Bonnie, she seems like a good friend." Stefan suddenly said looking towards Bonnie and Matt that were talking not far away from them. **"**Best friend in the world." Elena said with a real smile this time.

In that moment they noticed Claire joining Bonnie and Matt.

"And Claire? Are you as close to her as you are with Bonnie?" Stefan asked curiously.

"With Bonnie it's easier I guess. Claire is a pretty complicated person. She can be a real bitch sometimes. She's often sarcastic and blunt but she's also really protective of the people she cares about. She's a very loyal friend."

"So, the way she behaved towards me, it's her normal behavior? Because I kind of thought she didn't like me." Stefan asked with a slight frown on his face.

"Oh, no. That was Claire being Claire. And she was... well...testing you I guess you can say. But don't take it personal. You'll get used to her."

"Oh, I'm not worried. She kinds of remind me of a dear friend of mine."

"Oh, well. That's great then, you'll be friends in no time." Elena wondered who that friend was but she didn't ask.  
**"**And Matt, he can't seem to, uh, take his eyes off of us." Stefan said hesitantly.  
Elena sighed at that.** "**Matt's that friend since childhood that you start dating because you owe it to yourself to see if he can be more."  
**"**And?" Stefan asked curious.  
**"**And then my parents died, and everything changed. Anyway, Matt and I, together we just, I don't know, it wasn't, um. . .it wasn't. . ."  
**"**Passionate?"  
**"**No. No, it wasn't passionate. . ."

Suddenly Stefan's eyes started to change, taking on a strange red outline.  
**"**Hey, um, are you ok? Um, Your eyes, they just, they are-" Elena asked, looking at him strangely.  
**"**Oh, um... Yeah, no. It's, um, it's nothing. Um, are you thirsty? I'm gonna get us a drink." Stefan suddenly turned around and walked away without another word. Elena stared at the direction where he had just disappeared, wondering what the hell had happened.

Claire wandered a little in the woods, having the impression that she was forgetting something when she suddenly heard voices coming from somewhere to her left.  
**"**Vicky? No! Oh, my god, it's Vicky!" It was Jeremy Gilbert, Claire recognized his voice immediately. She suddenly realized what was that she had forgotten. How could she have forgotten that Damon would have bitten Vicky tonight? She run in the direction of the voices, hearing Elena scream. **"**Oh, my god!"

"What? What is it?" Claire asked out of breath. Elena looked at her, then at Vicky's body. In that moment Vicky gasped for breath.

"What happened to her?" Claire said, looking at Vicky with a grimace. Seeing the scene in reality was really different than in a TV show. It looked awful.

"I don't know. It seems that something bit her on the neck." Elena answered.

"Come on, better get out of here. Help me carry her." Together her, Jeremy and Elena were able to bring Vicky's body out of the woods. Vicky had lost consciousness again.

"Somebody help!" Elena shouted.

"Vicky? Vicky, what the hell?!" Matt exclaimed frantic as soon as he saw the scene.

"What happened to her?" That was Tyler.

"Somebody, call an ambulance!" Matt shouted at the crowd that had formed around Vicky.

"Everybody back up, give her some space!" Tyler exclaimed, trying to turn people away from the scene.

"It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood." Elena answered Matt's question.

"Vicky, Vicky, come on, open your eyes, look at me." Matt was saying to Vicky desperately. Claire turned away at that, suddenly feeling guilty even if technically it wasn't her fault.

Half an hour later Matt left in the ambulance with Vicky. Bonnie reached her side in that moment, a worried look on her face. "Ehy, how about we go to the Grill, wait for news?"

"Yeah. Let's look for Elena." Claire answered with an uncharacteristic grim tone. She was feeling a little sick. Seeing Vicky like this and knowing who was at fault for that, made everything suddenly seemed too real, and dangerous.

"Hey. We're gonna go to the Grill, wait for news." Bonnie repeated as soon as they reached Elena's side.

"I gotta take Jeremy home." was Elena's only response. Claire nodded at her.

"Elena, there's no way I'm psychic. I know that. But whatever I saw, or I think I saw, I have this feeling..." Bonnie began suddenly very serious. Elena noticed her tone because she asked "Bonnie, what?"

"That it's just the beginning." She finished and it sounded suspiciously like a omen.

Bonnie drove them to the Grill, Claire having had a little too much to drink to drive safely. Not to say that she was drunk, just a little tipsy. Even if whatever buzz she had had completely disappeared when she saw Vicky bleeding like that.

"Ehy, you've been silent the whole journey, are you okay?" Bonnie asked concerned once they took a seat at one of the tables.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. It's just... Seeing Vicky like that...it was awful. She was bleeding so heavily and the bite of her neck... I don't know, I think I'm kind of in shock."

"Yeah. I understand. What kind of animal could do something like this?"

Claire startled at that. "I don't know." She lied. "A really big one."

They stayed at the Grill two more hours without hearing anything from Matt. It was already late when they had arrived and now it was really time for them to leave. Liz Forbes was going to kill her.

"I'm going to pay the check. Wait here, I'll be along in a moment." Bonnie said before standing up and leaving the table towards the counter.

Claire sighed and looked at the table in front of her, playing slightly with the empty cup of coffee she had drunk to eliminate the effects of the alcohol she still had in her system. She suddenly felt a pricking on her neck, clear sign of someone watching her. She turned to her left and saw _him_. He was smirking towards her and he was so beautiful that for a moment she forgot herself. "Damon..." She whispered. Damon frowned at that, his expression suddenly closed off and suspicious and Claire widened her eyes, realizing her mistake. She had whispered his name and while for everyone else, it would have been impossible to hear at that distance, Damon was not everyone else. He was a vampire. Suddenly her vision of Damon was obscured by Bonnie who had just now returned to their table.

"Ready to go?" Bonnie asked her. Claire nodded and got up. She took a look at the table where Damon was sitting but he had already disappeared like she thought he would. Claire cursed herself at her mistake. Having Damon suspicious of her was a really dangerous thing. Who knows what he would try to do to her now? The image of Vicky, bleeding and pale came to her mind and she shivered. How was she going to explain to him how she knew his name without revealing the fact that until two days ago Mystic Falls and everything in it was just a TV show for her? She needed to think of something, but most of all she needed to convince Damon that she wasn't a threat to him. Yes, what Damon had done to Vicky was awful and it was not okay but she knew the potential Damon had for good if only someone would give him a chance. And anyway she couldn't really blame him for what he did because...well... he was a vampire after all. And vampires needed human blood to survive. She just wished he hadn't chosen Matt's sister for a midnight snack. Claire shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about the events of today and go to sleep. After a lot of tossing and turning she was finally able to fall asleep, a pair of blue eyes in the forefront of her mind all night.


End file.
